No song and dance about 'Sindhu Darshan' this year

Masood Hussain, TNNJun 21, 2004, 03.44am IST

SRINAGAR: In the first ever non-saffronised 'Sindhu Darshan' festival, there is a low turnout of tourists. The three-day long festival started in Leh on Friday. Officials said the change in the schedule of the festival might have played a spoilsport. The festival is being organised by the union ministry of tourism.

Against the modest attendance of 75 tourists in 1997, it jumped to 1700 in '02 and over 2300 in '03. This year, the official delegates include Tamil Nadu governor Ram Mohan Rao, and tourism ministers from Uttaranchal and Delhi.

Interestingly, for the first time, three Pakistani Sindhis have arrived to attend the festival. Interestingly it was J&K chief minister Mufti Sayeed's intervention which led to the permission for these three Sindhis. Janardan Baghwan Das alias Sain Sadaram Saheb, a. priest, was accompanied by his associates Lakshmi Chand, a singer and Satram Das. They are the first official Pakistani tourists.

While inaugurating the festival, Sayeed demanded the opening of Ladakh's Kailash Mansarovar route. In fact, J&K has been demanding this for many decades. Instead of the dangerous Uttaranchal route, Ladakh offers a safe, easy, short and motorable alternative to the Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage.

If this demand is conceded, the economy of this arid region will improve considerably. Tourism minister Renuka Choudhury said the government would have to take inputs from the home ministry and examine all issues.

"In border states, national security is of prime importance", said Ms Choudhury, who later wore the traditional Ladakhi Sulma and danced with Lambada dancers, specially flown from Andhra Pradesh. She announced her ministry would give a "wonderful package" next year for the promotion of tourism in Ladakh along with J&K.

Interestingly, the UPA government has demolished the ideological baggage of the Sindu darshan, the cultural festival that former deputy PM L K Advani started in Leh in 1997. For the first time, the Saffron colour was missing. The festival started by mixing the water from Brahmaputra, the Ganga, the Yamuna and the Godawari into the Indus instead of a Puja. This time, famous Bharatnatyam dancer Sonal Mansingh is the star attraction.